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user manual
Sollight
User manual
Organic coated steel
1 Introduction 5
7 Design 35
3
1 Introduction
Organic coated steel products are used in all sectors of industry. In building
and construction, profiles are used for wall cladding and roofing, and also
for applications such as suspended ceilings, lighting etc. In general industry,
these products have a variety of applications, including metal furniture,
HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and many others. And the
advantages of organic coated steel products are, of course, well known in
the domestic appliance market, where they are successfully used for white
goods (refrigerators, washing machines etc) and small kitchen appliances
(microwave ovens etc). Brown goods (LCDs, LED TV back panels, com-
puter casings, VCR & DVD casings etc) are another successful application.
The purpose of this document is to give you all the information you need to
take maximum advantage of everything organic coated steel has to offer.
It is no more than a technical support tool, however, and is not intended
as a substitute for direct contact with our technical experts and account
managers.
5
1 Introduction
Advantages ecological
ArcelorMittal Europe Flat Products offers you a pioneer- The main advantage of organic coated steel is its consis
ing new range of organic coated steels, 100% sustainable and tent quality. Paint film thickness, colour matching and sur-
highly effective, called Nature. face appearance are reproducible within narrow tolerances
from batch to batch. The flexibility of the coil coating process
The Nature collection complies with the European REACH reg- allows us to produce a range of different surface finishes such
ulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction as smooth, orange peel, grained, textured or embossed, which
of Chemical Substances) and is always supplied with coatings are all available in a wide choice of colours (solid, metallic,
and surface treatments free of hexavalent chromium* and pearlescent etc) and the required degree of gloss: anything
heavy metals (lead or hexavalent chromium complex). from matt to high gloss. Thanks to advanced printing tech-
nology, ArcelorMittal can also offer various printed patterns.
Moreover, the Nature collection, released in 2012, is effec-
tive in terms of corrosion resistance, paint peeling and film
integrity.
9
2 Organic coated products
2.1 The ArcelorMittal product range 2.1.2 Indoor building applications & general industry
Today, ArcelorMittal can offer a complete range of organic ArcelorMittals wide range of organic coated products covers
coated steels, produced in a continuous process by applying all indoor building applications and end uses in general industry.
liquid paint onto a substrate.
The steel substrates used for these applications are cold rolled
Our range of organic coated steel products meets the require- steel, hot dip galvanised steel, electrogalvanised steel and
ments of all sectors of industry. galfan. The product range for indoor building applications and
industry includes coatings with very specific properties, such
2.1.1 Domestic appliances as varnishes and primers suitable for use as a base coat and
compatible with insulation foams or adhesives. Please contact
A very wide range of high-gloss organic coated products is us for further information on these products and the dimen-
available for domestic appliances. The substrates we use for sions available.
these applications are cold rolled and galvanised steel. Dif-
ferent steel grades are available, for example for bending Product Appearance Application
and deep drawing applications. The organic coated steel to
Estetic Access Smooth Inner surface of
be selected for these applications depends on the end use,
sandwich panels, metal
as indicated in the table below. In each case there are sev- furniture; indoor use
eral possibilities. Do not hesitate to contact us for advice on
Estetic Standard Smooth, orange peel Air conditioners,
choosing the most appropriate product for your particular presentation racks,
application. radiators, casings
A continuous coil coating line consists of three main sections: 1. Pay-off reel
the entry section, the central or process section, and the exit 2. Stitching machine
3. Degreasing
section. In order to maintain a constant speed in the process
4. Entry looper
section, which is essential to product quality, two accumula- 5. Pretreatment
tors (looping towers) are used as buffers when the entry or 6. Coater: primer coater, top & backing coats
exit section of the line is stopped for joining or cutting the 7. Oven*
8. Cooler
strip.
9. Coater: top
10. Coater: underside
11. Oven*
12. Embossing roll
13. Cooler
14. Leveller
15. Exit looper
16. Inspection section
17. Coiler
3
2
5 6 7 8 9 10
* Each oven is equipped with a solvent incinerator
4
2.2.1 Entry section 2.2.2 Process section
The role of the primer is mainly: Of course, there is no such thing as a universal organic
- To enhance the adhesion of the top coat coated product that can meet all these requirements, but
- To improve flexibility and corrosion resistance we have been able to develop special products for each
- To determine the final texture in case of orange peel type of application. It is often necessary to give priority to
products one or more properties to the detriment of others. The wide
range of characteristics that can be built into organic coated
The top coats provide the required external surface charac- products explains the diversity of the solutions proposed by
teristics, such as the final appearance (colour, texture, gloss, ArcelorMittal. It is therefore essential to define precise prior
finish etc), hardness and resistance to abrasion and ultravio- specifications, so that we can determine the optimum solu-
let radiation. Depending on the required performance, a sin- tion in terms of technical and economic criteria.
gle (primer) or double (primer + top coat) paint layer can be
applied on one or both sides of the sheet.
3 for use
15
3 General recommendations for use
physical properties
3.2 General recommendations
flexibility
The first point to be borne in mind is that the surface condi-
tion of the final product is that of the coil coated sheet before
processing. The second point is that the weakest link in the
processing chain will determine the quality of the final prod-
uct. Consequently, great care must be taken with all process-
hardness
ing steps in order to ensure a high-quality result.
3.3.1 Handling Whatever the format (coil, sheets or blanks), organic coat-
ed products are shipped in packaging appropriate for the
Coils, sheets, blanks and components all need to be handled transport and handling conditions, the destination and the
differently. intended final use. This point should be discussed with your
ArcelorMittal agency.
Equipment for handling coils should have a protective coating,
e.g. sheathed non-metallic slings, and grips or C-hooks with a The packaging of finished parts made from organic coated
rubber or synthetic coating, and must be used with great care steel will be the same as for post-painted components. The
to avoid any hard impact that could mark the product. parts should be placed in boxes, baskets or other containers in
such a way that they are separated from one another and pro-
Operators should wear gloves when handling sheets manually tected against damage due to friction or impact. Corrugated
to protect their hands from cuts. This also keeps the surface cardboard spacers, foam sheets or other similar products can
of the sheet clean. be used for this purpose. Parts must never be stacked in bulk
without individual packaging.
For automatic handling, numerous solutions are available,
including robotic suction pad systems. An excellent option for 3.3.3 Storage
both sheets and blanks is four-point seizure by suction pads.
This can be further improved by installing permanent magnets The coils, sheets or blanks must be stored in clean, heated
at the stack edges to maintain the stack while the sheets are premises, which must be at least sufficiently ventilated to
removed one by one. prevent moisture accumulation by capillarity (between sheets
or coil laps), which would lead to corrosion. Proper packaging
is recommended to allow the coil/bundle to breathe. More
over, the storage temperature should be as constant as pos-
sible to avoid condensation. If storage at a low temperature
cannot be avoided, the products must be warmed at about
20C for 24 hours prior to processing (see p. 16).
Examples of conditions leading to material deterioration dur- 3.4 Recommendations for decoiling, slitting,
ing storage: cutting to length, shearing, punching and
mechanical cutting
- The narrow gaps between panels and coil laps are consid-
ered to be very confined areas where water can penetrate
and collect, leading to specific storage corrosion. 3.4.1 Decoiling
- Damage might also be caused by deterioration of the The drive system for decoiling must be matched to the line
strippable film. Prolonged exposure to sunlight could make speed, in order to optimise product flow. In extreme circum-
the film more adhesive, and consequently more difficult stances, the drive system will also eliminate jerks, and flapping
to remove. In addition, adhesive residues might remain and slipping of adjacent laps.
on the organic coated products, increasing the chance of
dust, soil etc collecting. 3.4.2 Slitting, cutting to length, shearing,
punching and mechanical cutting
Special precautions must also be taken when handling the
products: Slitting and other cutting processes for organic coated strip
are performed using the same parameters as for other prod-
- When the sheets are removed from the stack, they should ucts. It is essential to correctly adjust and sharpen the tools
not be dragged, so as to limit the risk of scratching. used to avoid the formation of burrs and paint slivers. Because
there is no final painting operation to cover the burrs, they will
- Mechanical damage can occur when coils are placed remain visible. Paint slivers and built-up edges can contami-
directly on the ground. We recommend the use of protec- nate the tools.
tive mats made of rubber, felt or similar materials, to
prevent rough surfaces or debris causing marks or inden- Slitting, cutting-to-length and shearing operations must be
tations on the first lap of the coils. A small indentation on considered at the design stage to ensure that any burrs that
the outer lap can affect several laps inside the coil. may result do not affect the appearance of the finished prod-
uct or pose a safety risk (cuts to the hands) during handling
- Coils and bundles of organic coated sheets must not be etc. The following rules must be respected in order to control
allowed to splay or be stacked on top of one another, the position of cutting burrs.
since this increases the weight on bottom coils. The pro-
tective covering should be replaced on all partly used coils Ideally, the sheet should be worked from the coated side (i.e.
and bundles, in order to avoid soiling and damage to the with the side that will be visible in the finished product upper-
exposed laps or sheets. most) in order to optimise transformation process control and
avoid peeling of the paint in the event of poor tool adjust-
We recommend using organic coated products within six ment.
months of manufacture in order to conserve maximum flex-
ibility of the organic coatings. After six months, mechanical Symmetrical mounting of the slitting and edging wheels is
densification of the structure of the coating may occur, lead- preferred.
ing to loss of flexibility.
top shaft
bottom shaft
top shaft
bottom shaft
back
50-60% fracture zone
blank
blade holder
moving blade
sheet uncoiled strip
vertical clearance
(crossover)
sheet blank
fixed
blade
blade
horizontal clearance
(between steel)
bottom shaft Orientation of burrs after shearing
3.4.3 Laser and water jet cutting 3.4.4 Compatibility with post-painting operations
In laser cutting, the gas used must be nitrogen. Oxygen burns Coil coated panels can be post-painted by the end user:
the organic coating and disrupts the laser beam, leading to - When they are used as the base for an additional coat of
a loss of power and the appearance of burrs. The choice of decorative paint, which is applied either by sublimation, as
nitrogen increases the cost of cutting due to the high flow- a powder or by spraying. The paint is then cured or dried
rates required (pressure of 20 bars compared to 1 bar for under ambient conditions.
oxygen). - When localised re-painting is needed in the event of
scratching or other damage during installation, for
If the sheet has a temporary protective film, cutting can be instance; the paint is applied using a brush and dries under
performed in two passes, one for the film and one for the ambient conditions.
organic coated material. If possible, the adhesion of the film - When the end product needs to be repainted on site
should be sufficient to prevent peeling, which could hinder (e.g. roofs); the paint is sprayed and dries under ambient
the beam. The best solution is generally to remove the film conditions.
prior to cutting, in order to preserve the excellent quality of
a laser cut (accuracy, narrowness of the heat-affected zone For the three cases mentioned, there should be very good
and absence of burrs). compatibility between the paints (coil coated and post-paint-
ed) to ensure that the end-product properties are retained
Water jet cutting is highly suitable for organic coated products (adhesion, corrosion resistance). Consequently:
and requires no special adjustments. Since there is no source - The organic coated substrate must be free of dust, oil and
of heat and no contact with a tool, this process gives an excel- other impurities before being re-painted. If delamination
lent quality cut, with no burrs, no damage to the organic coat- has occurred, the paint must be removed (by sand blast-
ings and no heat-affected zones. The only aspect sometimes ing, for instance).
requiring attention is the presence of a protective film, which - If bare metal is visible, a primer must be applied, followed
must be prevented from peeling during cutting. by the top coat, in accordance with the paint suppliers
recommendations.
4.1 Introduction 22
4.2 Drawing 22
4.4 Bending 25
4.4.1 Flap bending 25
4.4.2 Narrow punch V-bending 25
4.7 Spinning 26
21
4 Forming of organic coated steel
The strain levels arising from the design of the component and
the forming process must be compatible with the formability
of the steel substrate, the metallic coating when present, and
the paint system. This aspect will be discussed in detail in the
section on component design (see p. 35).
plane strain
The same factors are important in roll forming of organic A temporary protective film is another solution to facilitate
coated steel, i.e. the flexibility and adhesion of the coating in roll forming and safeguard the organic coating. This solution is
bends and its resistance to contact pressure and friction. frequently employed for wide sections such as those used in
the building industry, but can prove more difficult for complex
The first of these aspects will be considered in detail later, in profiles. This point will be discussed further at a later stage.
the section dealing with design (see p. 35). Evanescent lubricants may also be used (cf. 6.2).
For resistance to contact pressure, the solutions are diffe For small roll-formed profiles, most tooling processes are
rent from those applicable for drawing processes. Firstly, the designed with very small or zero clearances, in order to ensure
diameter of the rolls must be as large as possible. Secondly, accurate dimensions. However, this approach is not suitable
all sharp angles on the rolls must be eliminated and replaced for organic coated steel, since a degree of clearance is neces-
by fillets. sary to avoid damaging the paint coating. For wide profiles,
a clearance of one or two tenths of a millimetre is generally
In order to prevent slippage, the ideal solution is to have tools necessary for a sheet thickness of 0.7 mm. As in drawing, it
with counter-rolls mounted on bearings. This is a technically is the total sheet thickness that counts, including the organic
simple solution that presents no additional difficulties in terms coating and protective film.
of maintenance, and the initial investment is only marginally
higher.
The control of strain during flanging is similar to that in roll- Spinning is a process that can induce high forming strains, and
forming and bending processes. from this point of view it is similar to drawing.
Tool/workpiece contact is different on the inside and outside In order to avoid damage to the paint coating, the roll must
surfaces of the bend. On the inside, contact occurs over a have a large diameter and a perfectly polished surface. The
surface area and pressure is fairly light. In contrast, on the surface of the mandrel must be equally well polished to ensure
outside, contact with the punch (blade) is often linear and that the steel sheet slides easily.
pressure is more acute. This is therefore where the potential
difficulties lie. To minimise this problem, the tools must be
blank
polished, and this is especially important for the punch. Clear-
ance must be sufficient to avoid crushing the paint layer. The
punch edge radius should be as large as possible.
tailstock
blank holder
punch
mandrel
spinning roller
articulated punch
die
5.2 Clinching 29
5.3 Riveting 29
5.6 Welding 31
5.6.1 Resistance welding 31
5.6.2 Arc welding techniques 32
5.6.3 Resistance butt welding (ERW) 32
5.6.4 Laser welding 32
5.6.5 Welding of pins 32
27
5 Joining of organic coated steel
lap joint
ficulty may in fact be an opportunity to switch to cleaner and
less noisy joining processes.
butt joint
5.1 Adhesive bonding
Recommended adhesive bonded joint configurations
Adhesive bonding is ideal for organic coated steel, which is
an intrinsically clean product and an excellent substrate for
adhesives. In order to obtain good adhesion and cohesion in Shear, tensile and compressive stresses are preferable to
the bond, the compatibility of the adhesive and the organic peeling and cleavage, which should be avoided.
coating should be ascertained prior to use. This aspect must
be examined in detail, since each organic coating/adhesive Before bonding, check that the surfaces to be joined are dry
combination has its own specific characteristics. Moreover, and not contaminated with chemical substances (oil, grease
the durability of the bond may vary with the environment etc) or dust particles. In the event of contamination, they
to which the finished component is exposed. Please contact must be wiped with a clean rag or cleaned with a soft brush,
ArcelorMittals specialists on this point. then with a cloth soaked in isopropyl alcohol. In extreme cir-
cumstances, the contact surfaces can be protected with an
An adhesive bonded structure is a complex composite sys- organic film, which should be removed just before bonding.
tem, the efficiency of which depends not only on the choice
of adhesive but also on the cohesion of all the constituent
layers. Failure of a joint may occur in the adhesive, in the metal
or organic coating, or at one of the interfaces (metal/metallic
coating/primer/top coat/adhesive). Tests must be performed
to determine the optimum technical and economic solution
for each case. An important point is the fact that adhesive compression shear tension
bonded joints in organic coated sheets exhibit a much better
wet ageing performance than uncoated metal or galvanised
surfaces. Two-component polyurethane adhesives are an
excellent choice for many applications.
Blind riveting
for which only one side of the joint needs to be accessible,
since the hollow rivet is deformed by a central shaft. Diffe
rent models exist, including explosive head and threaded shaft
types, or systems in which the head or shaft snaps.
competitive when compared with other mechanical joining However, lock seaming is only suitable for parts with a simple
systems, although they are more expensive than adhesive geometric design, and cannot be used for corners. The joints
bonding, clinching etc due to the cost of the rivets. cannot be dismantled, and have low resistance to sliding in
a direction parallel to the folds, and low resistance to open-
Certain provisos need to be mentioned: ing perpendicular to the folds. With lock seaming, folding
- For self-piercing rivets, the maximum thickness of the strains are often severe, requiring the use of extremely flex-
assembly is 6 mm ible organic coatings.
- This limit decreases if the steel mechanical properties
increase Lock seaming is economical for large production runs, even
- For other types of riveting, there is no known limit though the design of the tooling can be a lengthy and difficult
- The technique is not very suitable for thin sheets process.
5.4 Lock seaming 5.5 Joining with bolts, studs, clips etc
Lock seaming is a technique involving plastic deformation of These mechanical joining methods are also perfectly suited
the steel to make the join. It is perfectly suitable for organic for use with organic coated steel, and can be used to join
coated steel, providing that the metallic and organic coatings products of completely different types without reducing their
are chosen to withstand the strains generated in the folds. corrosion resistance. The joints can be readily dismantled, but
are aesthetically unattractive, even when covered by coloured
Lock seaming satisfactorily preserves the corrosion resistance plastic caps. These methods represent a significant additional
of the coatings and can be easily combined with adhesive bond- cost in terms of materials and labour. Mechanical joining of
ing. The joint can be made perfectly leaktight by using a sealing this type is relatively silent and consumes little energy, but is
compound, an adhesive or a rubber seal. Wherever possible, the difficult to automate.
seam should be designed so that the sheet edges are not visible,
both for aesthetic reasons and for optimum corrosion resistance.
In general, conventional welding techniques have a negative Because of its non-conductivity, organic coated strip is not
effect on the appearance of organic coated sheet and lead to suitable for resistance welding, except in the case of specific
a loss of corrosion resistance. Protection of the weld zones is organic coatings that are described as weldable. Their overall
therefore necessary if the part is exposed to an aggressive static strength is nevertheless of the order of 500 mW, com-
environment. pared with 0.02 to 0.05 mW for electrogalvanised steel. Elec-
trodes with hemispherical contact surfaces facilitate passage
However, certain techniques such as electrical discharge of the current by localising the force. The weldability range is
welding of studs give good results without damaging the generally shifted to lower currents, representing an advantage
coating. for industrial processes.
During the welding process, fumes are released. Their com- Welding can be facilitated by mechanically removing the coat-
position very much depends on the product/paint involved: ing at the points to be joined. In a few rare cases, the elec-
- volatile organic compounds (VOC) trodes can be brought into contact with the bare or zinc
- semi-volatile organic compounds, e.g. unburnt products coated sides of sheets painted on one side, the painted sides
such as tars being in contact.
- inorganic particles (Fe, Zn, Al etc) originating from the
substrate, the metallic coating or paint pigments piece added
electrode electrode
However, as mentioned above, fume composition and con-
centration depend not only on the organic coated product in
question but also on the welding process (frequency, condi-
tion etc). In order to minimise any risk, the customer must front side
provide a well-ventilated working area and suitable equip-
ment for the welders. initial current main current
In these different processes (MIG, MAG, TIG, plasma etc), the This process requires precise assembly of the sheet edges
steel is brought to melting temperature. As a result, the coat- in order to prevent disturbance of the laser beam by fume
ings are vaporised and contaminate the melt pool. This can emissions produced by excessive contact with the sheet sur-
create open porosity in the weld seam or may generate projec- faces. As in the case of arc welding, it is possible to remove
tions (MAG welding) or interruptions of the arc (TIG welding). the organic coating along the weld line.
The coatings are burnt in a wide heat-affected zone around The principal advantage of laser welding is the narrow heat-
the weld. Mechanical removal of the coating in the weld zone affected zone, which is only a few millimetres wide.
is preferable to eliminate these problems, and for this reason,
butt welds are easier to perform than lap welds. Certain posi-
tions of the parts during welding promote the evacuation of
fumes.
weld seam
weld point
pressure roll
Welding a pin by electrical discharge welding
V angle (5 to 7)
induction coil The pulsed arc process requires electrically conducting coat-
ings and marks the rear side of the coated sheet. The stud
inert gas (SIG) process is applicable to all types of coating, but
causes significant coating damage.
tube travel
impeder
33
6 Protection and manufacturing aids
A temporary protective film applied as the steel leaves the In cases where lubrication is necessary, it is important to
organic coating line, or at a later stage, is an excellent way choose the right lubricant. Volatile oils are preferred, since
to reduce the risks of scratching during processing, or, in they generally eliminate the need for degreasing. In some
the case of painted sheets, during transportation. However, cases, they may be directly compatible with a final adhesive
it entails additional costs for both application and removal, bonding or painting operation. They are applied using low-
which must be carried out at the latest possible stage. This pressure microspray or aerosol systems, or by roll coating etc.
peeling operation is generally performed on the finished com- Another solution is to use soluble oils. However, these require
ponent, often by the final customer, if the film is left in place more complex installations for their recovery and treatment.
to protect the component until arrival. However, for complex Greases, waxes and similar products should be avoided, since
shapes, film removal can be a laborious process. they are difficult to eliminate without using solvents, which
are often incompatible with organic coatings.
Films usually cause no problems for bending, roll forming,
slitting, cutting etc. The usefulness of a protective film thus Solvents such as isopropyl alcohol are the best choice for
depends essentially on the protection required during the cleaning organic coated sheets, if this proves to be necessary.
processing operations to be performed. Controversially, in Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and ethyl acetate solvents must
certain cases, the film may hinder processing, for example in be avoided since they can attack the organic coating. The
drawing (except for specially designed films), laser cutting simplest solution for cleaning these products is to use soapy
and adhesive bonding. water.
Finally, the film should be peeled off rapidly after severe form-
ing operations such as deep drawing, since high pressures lead
to a loss of peelability with time.
35
7 Design
In order to successfully design a component using organic However, this equation underestimates the strain when the
coated steel, three aspects must be considered, namely bending radius approaches the sheet thickness (e.g. in 180
shapes, joints, and edges and corners. Other factors, such folds).
as stiffness, fatigue strength etc, will not be discussed here,
since they are not specific to organic coated steel. The curve below shows the strain values calculated with
the equation as a function of the Ri/t ratio and demon-
strates the logarithmic influence of the bending radius.
0T 0T >100 Joints must preserve the properties of the coatings and the
0.5 T 1T 50 visible areas must remain aesthetically attractive.
The aesthetic appearance of sheet edges is not as good as in Other solutions now exist for the forming of corners (Wemo,
post-painted products. Different solutions can be envisaged, Eckold techniques etc).
such as 180 folds (hems) or the use of synthetic edge cov-
ers. However, it is generally preferable to modify the com- Organic coated steel offers numerous advantages due to the
ponent design so as to locate the edges where they will not many possible combinations. For example, steel sheets can
be visible, for example at the back of the component, or to have a different finish, colour or appearance on each side, or
ensure that they are covered by other parts. be painted on one side only etc. Any request must be exam-
ined in detail, since the paints applied on the two sides must
be compatible in terms of curing temperature, for example, or
to avoid the risk of marbling (pressure marks that can appear
during storage).
Copyright
flateurope.technical.assistance@arcelormittal.com
industry.arcelormittal.com
PR-UM-OCO-EN 01/2015